Teacher Reflection

Well, my friends, we've made it to the end of another school year. This will be my last blog post for awhile as I head off to enjoy my last summer vacation as a non-mother! I'll see you back here in late August/early September as we prepare to begin the 2014-2015 school year (my 15th year working in education!) and I'll begin my weekly blogs again (that is, until my maternity leave starts!).

As I'm sure many of you have, I've been using some time lately to reflect on how my year went and what my goals and hopes are for next year. I've even begun thinking about what my SMART goals might entail. I'm already getting excited about my plans, which include developing and implementing a more formal coaching model for our school district, which I believe will help me ensure my coaching is as effective as it can be, benefiting teachers and students alike. After two years of coaching, I feel ready and energized to tackle this goal!

If you're having trouble reflecting and thinking about goals for next year, I suggest turning to the Teaching Rubric that's part of our new education evaluation system here in Massachusetts. This rubric is designed to aid in your reflection on your practices and in your goal-setting. But it can feel a bit cumbersome and verbose, can't it? To better navigate it, try considering these questions as you skim through the indicators (I'm going to focus on Standards I & II here, since they're so instructional in nature and that's my thing, y'all!):

Standard I:

• How rigorous are the tasks you engage students in? Are students working within their zone of proximal development (ZPD)? What assessment practices do you use that help you to determine where each student's ZPD is?
• How often do students learn through differentiated experiences in your class, whether they be differentiated by interest, learning style, or readiness?
• How comfortable do you feel with your lesson planning formats and structures? Do you consistently include challenging, measurable objectives (and do these objectives end up being "lived objectives" during the lesson)? Activators? Summarizers? Opportunities for assessing student understanding? Opportunities for all students to practice and to receive feedback? Is pacing ever an issue? Are there built-in opportunities for students to receive support should they need it, or to be challenged with extensions should that be their need?
• How often do you use formative assessment data (this could be informal or formal) to inform your instruction for the next day(s)? Are you able to do this on a regular basis (weekly or even, ideally, daily)?
• What types of assessments do students experience in your class? Is it a wide range?

Standard II:

• Are students provided exemplars and rubrics that help them understand assessment criteria and expectations? Do you model as often as possible? Do you use a "gradual release of responsibility" (I Do, We Do, You Do) so that students are scaffolded towards success?
• How engaged are your students during lessons? Is time on task an issue? Are all students given chances to practice (not just those who raise their hands)?
• How often do you tier your instruction in order to meet the needs and readiness levels of all your students? Do you feel comfortable planning tiered instruction based on formative assessment data?
• Do your students clearly understand your expectations of them? Could they describe them to someone else? Are your expectations so communicated and enforced (through rituals, routines, and appropriate responses) that students eventually "own" them as well?

The above questions don't cover everything Standards I & II delve into. But I think they are a great starting place for examining our instructional practices and determining where we'd like to improve. As you do so, please consider working with me as your instructional coach. The coaching model I'll be developing and implementing next year will help me to even better guide the teachers I work with towards the efficient, effective meeting of their goals.

In the meantime, have wonderful summers, educators! See you for 2014-2015!

Expanding our "Teaching Menus"

“Some classes, it’s like peanut butter and jelly for lunch every single day. But in this class, it’s like my teacher really knows how to cook. It’s like she runs a really big restaurant with a big menu..."

The above is from an interview Carol Tomlinson (DI guru and my academic crush) conducted with a student. Besides her nice grasp of simile, this kid really gets the need for variety in a classroom.

I'll be the first to admit, there were plenty of days in my own classroom where PB & J was the only thing on the menu. To extend the metaphor . . . PB & J was what I was good at. I had mastered it. Plus, I liked PB & J. It was one of my own favorites.

But when I read the above quote, I am forced to ask myself: What about those students I had who didn't like PB & J (still with the metaphor here)? Maybe some who hated it? Maybe some who liked it sometimes, but were pretty sick of it when it was the only option most days? Was I providing them enough variety? Was I providing them enough "nutrients" -- what about all those other foods I could have been serving? Veggies, fruit, even the occasional ice cream?

You know what? I wasn't growing as a "chef," either. Sure, my PB & J was darn good, but what else was on the menu? I wasn't stretching myself to learn to prepare new things -- I was stuck in a comfort zone rut.

When we think about differentiation, we should embrace it as an opportunity to expand our teaching menus, to grow so that we are also running "really big restaurant[s] with . . . big menu[s]." It will benefit our students -- after all, we're trying to nourish everyone, but they don't all have to eat the same thing at the same time to get that nourishment. It will benefit us as teachers, too, enabling us to grow.

The focus of my upcoming summer workshop is how to plan this kind of "menu," including the use of different types of assessments, different options to offer our students, all while keeping their "tastes" and "dietary needs" in mind. It's still not too late to sign up -- if you're interested, and/or have questions, just let me know. Or, if you can't make the workshop, we can plan on working together in a coach/coachee capacity towards this end. 

Happy cooking!

Establishing a Classroom Culture for DI

Many teachers understandably fear what their students' reactions will be to a differentiated classroom. Will they notice that some students may be doing different work than they are? Will they feel "on display" if the teacher calls them to the side for some small group instruction? Will they feel differentiation is "unfair"?

These are, as I said, understandable concerns. We want our students to feel comfortable in our classrooms. But we can't let these concerns prevent us from delivering effective instruction to all students.

Carol Tomlinson, noted DI expert and a personal academic crush of mine, recommends bringing our students into a conversation about differentiation in order to establish a classroom culture conducive to and accepting of DI. Here are some questions she suggests (from her book, Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, co-authored with M.B. Imbeau, 2010) teachers pose to begin this kind of dialogue with students:

O Who are you as learners? (Are you all alike or are there important differences?)

O Given the differences we see, how should I teach you?

O If our classroom is going to work for all of us, what will it be like? (How will it need to function? What roles will each of us play?)

O How can I learn more about your starting points, interests, & best ways of learning?

O If we have a differentiated classroom, can it be fair? (What will “fair” mean in this room?)

O What will success in this class mean? (How will I know if you’re succeeding? How will you know?)

 

Think about the students you had this past year. How would they respond to these questions? In my 

experience, students recognize and understand the need for DI much more than we think they might.

So, if you're planning on including DI in your classes next year, think about beginning the school 

year with this kind of conversation with your students -- be upfront with them, bring them on board.

It should lead to smoother sailing for all of you when the time comes for some differentiated lessons. 

 

Shameless plug alert: The above is just a slice of what my summer workshop will offer this year. You

can still sign up -- let me know if you're interested and/or have questions! 

Summer Reading -- Teacher's Edition

I've got two book recommendations for you, but you might think I'm crazy -- they're both about teaching. Perhaps you think that reading a book about teaching is the last thing that will relax you over summer break. But these aren't your everyday books about teaching.

(Disclaimer: Both of these books have been around for awhile. I read them years ago. But that doesn't make them any less good, does it?)

And now, without further ado, the titles. Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (yes, the Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt). Yup. These aren't books espousing a bunch of educational theories or pedagogy (though, if you know me, you know I love those books, too!). They are, rather, memoirs (Codell's is actually written in the form of a diary) and both chronicle the beginning of their respective teaching careers, Esme's as a fifth grade teacher in Chicago and Teacher Man's as a high school teacher at a vocational school in New York, NY.

I can't really say, based on these books, that Codell and McCourt are good teachers (or bad teachers, for that matter). But I can say that they are honest teachers. There are lots of ups and downs portrayed in these pages. Many I can relate to, and I'm sure you can, too. Many I can't. I've never taught in the types of schools Codell and McCourt taught in. So, I guess what I like about each is that I gain an appreciation for the struggles of teaching in urban/inner city schools; I like the authors' candor; I like when the books make me laugh or nod along when I can relate; I even kind of like when they make me cringe if I disagree; I like how they remind me of what it felt like to be a beginning teacher.

Happy reading this summer! Feel free to share any titles you recommend (they can be dorky books about teaching, or, if you're cooler than me, not!).

Games in the Classroom: Not ALL Fun & Games

Do your students play games in your classroom as part of the content and skills they are learning? Great! Games can be an excellent venue for formative assessment because they provide awesome opportunities for immediate feedback and support.

Check out this post from Edutopia for some specific examples. This is a wonderful time of year to think about introducing games to your classroom to keep up that student engagement and motivation as the days get sunnier and warmer.

Concerned about just how you can use games as formative assessment, using the informal data you gather by observing your students to inform future instruction? Give your district's instructional coach a holler -- she'd be glad to collaborate with you on this! 

It's Not Over 'Til It's Over

Yup. It's mid-May. State-testing is just about wrapped up. Educator evaluations are being finalized. June, and, with it, the end of the school year, is literally right around the corner.

It can be hard to stay motivated and engaged at this time of the year, for students and teachers both. But we must, mustn't we? After all, there are still weeks and weeks left of learning (don't shoot me; I'm just the messenger, y'all!).

If you're having difficulty holding onto a feeling of excitement for the classroom right about now, maybe it's time to throw caution to the wind and try something new. It might be just the thing to give you that burst of energy and enthusiasm to carry you forward until that last bell rings.

The great thing about trying something new now is that you know your students SO well at this point. It can be tricky to "experiment" earlier in the year, especially when you're just getting a handle on who's who in your classroom. But if you try something out now, with students you know well, you may feel comfortable enough with it in the fall to begin the year with it!

So, if you're interested, think about the following possibilities:

• Maybe you've never felt quite comfortable with -- or never even tried -- a workshop format with your students. Why not try it out now?
• Perhaps you know you should use formative assessments more often to inform your instruction, but the day-to-day life of a teacher has slowed you down and distracted you from this. Now could be a great time to play around with it a little more.
• Maybe you find yourself using the same ol' activators and summarizers you always use -- or maybe you find yourself having strayed away from these valuable tools. Now could be the time to learn about some new strategies to use at the beginning and/or the ending of a lesson.
• You've always thought about trying to tier a lesson, but you're just not sure how. Now's a great time to learn more about this, especially with your knowledge of your students!

The possibilities are endless! If you'd like some guidance and collaboration, you can always contact your district's friendly instructional coach. *wink, wink.*

Dealing with Defiance

It's not overly fun to think about, but sometimes we have students who can be defiant in the classroom.

My number one piece of advice in this kind of situation is to not take it personally. Usually, there are a myriad of factors leading to a student's defiant behavior, most of which probably have little or nothing to do with you as the teacher. That said, sometimes the best starting place is to try and explore what is causing the defiant behavior. Who can you talk to about this that may have some insight? The student's guidance counselor? The school psychologist? The parents? Other teachers who have had success with the student? Often, knowing what's causing the behavior can be a good way to begin to know how to address it.

In the meantime, it's best to think of how you will approach classroom management with this particular type of student. Here are some pointers from my own experience and research:

Address the behavior as privately as possible.
This is crucial, especially with adolescents. If you reprimand a defiant student in front of the entire class (even if the reprimand is rather "gentle" from your perspective), you have placed that student in a situation where he or she feels the need to "save face" in front of his or her peers. This need to "save face" may very well cause the student to engage in defiant behavior with you -- often, an adolescent with defiant tendencies sees no other way out of this kind of situation other than to escalate it.
However, if you pull the student aside after class to have a private one-on-one conversation with him or her, you'll often find the dialogue to be much more effective in helping to change student behavior. He or she will typically not be defiant in this kind of situation, because there will be no need to "save face" with no peers around to witness your dialogue.

Use positive, versus negative, statements.
Instead of telling potentially defiant students (or any students, for that matter) what not to do (i.e., "Stop talking"), try telling them what they should do instead (i.e., "Please listen" or "Focus"). In this way, you'll be giving the students expectations of how they should be behaving, which some may truly not be aware of. And you'll lessen the likelihood that they will react defiantly.

Use "I" statements.
Try stating things in terms of what your needs are as the teacher, instead of imposing what you see as the needs of the students on them. For example, instead of saying "You all need to stop talking so you can learn better" (something your students may, unfortunately, try to disagree with), try saying, "I find it difficult to keep everyone's attention when there are other conversations going on. That's why I need you to be quiet at this point and focus your attention here."






If you're interested in reading more about how best to interact with defiant students, check out this link, which goes into a nice amount of detail on causes of defiant behavior and approaches to dealing with it in the classroom. Or work with your district's instructional coach (wink, wink) to see how you may be able to turn things around in your classroom.